We were born to die. April 23rd, a message, a statement. Carved with a dagger into the seams of my skin. The message doesn't fit my face, or the rosy-pink color of my hair, but it's the message my future self seems to think fits for us.

My father was a cold man, with a heart of stone and a wall hiding behind his dead eyes. His eyes were big and round, just like mine. My mother had a picture-perfect smile that she said I would one day inherit, though I never got the chance to smile much.  This world works in ways I could never comprehend; I thought couples were meant to love each other, but my father never seemed to love my mother.

I remember that night, one I will regret for years to come.

My mother smiled as father yelled at her. For a second, I thought I would see a tear fall down her face, but my mother never cried.

I remember my mother's yelling, urging me to get out of the house, and the furious look on my father's face. I remember hearing the words "ordinary" and "normal" come from my father, time and time again.

Back then, I thought, Who's this ordinary person you're talking about?

The events that followed will forever be ingrained in my memory. My father's friend followed me out of the house, and grabbed me by the arm. I saw my mother's panicked face one last time as I was led into a large van. My father had his arm around my mother.

I watched the door of the van cover the outside world, and I was left in partial darkness; a small lamp was the only thing letting me see.

As I looked around the truck I was met with grim faces; no one seemed to notice me. I looked toward a little girl with bright red hair and she was hugging a small boy with blue hair; a look of concern was swept across his face. I sat next to the girl and said, "What's happening?" She snapped her head toward me, slowly looked down, and whispered something incoherent.

"What was that?" I said, but she didn't repeat herself.

The little boy kept asking the girl, "Are you okay? Sissy? What's wrong?". He seemed concerned as he tried to figure out what was up with his sister.

Another girl sitting on the other side of the truck saw me and waved me over.

My shoes tapped on the cold ground of the truck as I walked towards her.

"Hello," I said, sitting down next to her. The girl looked taken aback.

"How are you so... calm? Do you understand what just happened?" I shook my head; she looked down and said, "Well, I guess it's only a matter of time before you find out."